Tea for me please.
For some people coffee is like “let me have some so I can function”, a jolting liquid that keeps away headaches and fatigue. I have friends that are addicted to coffee, but is it really good for you? Recently my tea friends have become a growing community, but is tea that much better for you? Let’s find out.
Tea gets the good reputation of being a healthy drink, it is the most widely consumed beverage in the world. Yes, right next to water and yes, right before beer. I was doing some research and I learned that Tea was discovered by the Emperor of China – No surprise there right? In 2737 BC he (The Emperor) was boiling water under a tree when leaves accidentally fell into the boiling water, he tasted it and was surprised by its goodness, Thank you Emperor of China! Since that day, Tea became popular among people in China and Japan who drank tea to stay awake, study and meditate, aren’t those the same reason people drink coffee too? Perhaps this is why hot drinks have always been associated with mindfulness, calm, spirituality and solid health.
Coffee, meanwhile, did not appear until much later, legends says that a goatherd named Kaldi noticed his goats became a little hyper than usual after eating certain berries from a tree. Later on coffee became very popular among monks at monasteries, where they drank the beverage to keep them alert while praying and it kept spreading its way across the Arabian Peninsula.
Both Coffee and Tea remained Eastern beverages for quite a long time until coffee made it to Europe in the 17th century. As you can see, both were discovered boiling water under a tree or eating seeds from a tree, trees are good!
Drinking coffee and/or tea have their benefits, though it is always hard to pinpoint exactly what those are due to lots of studies. Some researchers have focused on specific potential benefits of coffee, with some studies finding that coffee might have the ability to reduce the incidence of Alzheimer or even type 2 diabetes, just to give you an example. Coffee has a higher caffeine content than tea, which means its levels of the stimulant might help people with asthma by relaxing the lung’s airways. Caffeine also helps in constricting blood vessels in the brain and reducing migraines, and often alleviates hangovers because of this. Now I know what to tell my friends when they have a headache.
Tea, on the other hand, is filled with antioxidants and potential cancer-fighting properties. Though not enough has been studied to conclude whether tea does in fact reduce the risk of cancer, tea has often been considered a therapeutic or medicinal drink that has both soothing and rejuvenating qualities. All types of tea are made from the leaves of Camelia. The amount of oxidation that occurs in the leaves is what defines different types of teas, from black tea to white tea, and of course green tea “my favorite”. Tea has polyphenols are believed to be involved in health benefits especially in green tea, again my favorite, and they also contain free radicals that might protect cells from DNA damage.
But remember, as with anything that contains caffeine, way too much coffee and tea could result in increased anxiety, tachycardia, heart palpitations, insomnia, restlessness, and nausea. High amounts of unfiltered coffee, meanwhile, has been linked to higher levels of bad cholesterol, LDL. Tea contains fluoride, and while this is good for your dental health, too much of it may increase your risk of brittle bones. Certain tea blends from China, India, or Sri Lanka have been found to contain aluminum and risky amounts of lead, so where you get your tea is pretty important.
However, you are better off leaving the heavy cream and three packs of sugar out of your drinks, and please stop worrying about whether tea is better than coffee or vice versa. Both drinks are good, and for the most part pretty decent for you.
Do not forget to take your Tea Break or your Coffee Break now and then, and enjoy!
Cheers!
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